2023-05961. Endangered Species; Receipt of Recovery Permit Applications

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of receipt of permit applications; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these applications. Before issuing the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.

DATES:

We must receive any written comments on or before April 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Use one of the following methods to request documents or submit comments. Requests and comments should specify the applicant's name and application number ( e.g., PER0001234):

• Email: [e-mail].

• U.S. Mail: Abby Gelb, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Dr., Hadley, MA 01035.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Abby Gelb, 413-253-8212 (phone), or [e-mail] (email). Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on applications for permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested permits would allow the applicants to conduct activities intended to promote recovery of species that are listed as endangered under the ESA.

Background

With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species, unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA's definition of “take” includes such activities as pursuing, harassing, trapping, capturing, or collecting, in addition to hunting, shooting, harming, wounding, or killing.

A recovery permit issued by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or for enhancement of propagation or survival of the species. Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.62 for endangered plant species, and 50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant species.

Permit Applications Available for Review and Comment

We invite local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public to comment on the following applications.

Application No.	Applicant	Species	Location	Activity	Type of take	Permit action
1540434	Steve Tanguay, Hot Springs, VA	Rusty patched bumble bee ( Bombus affinis)	Virginia, West Virginia	Presence/absence survey	Capture	New.
60434D-1	Sea Turtle Recovery, West Orange, NJ. William Deerr	Kemp's ridley sea turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill sea turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback sea turtle ( Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta), green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas)	New Jersey	Add: stranding response, nest monitoring and relocation, telemetry	Salvage, capture, collect	Amend.
20359D-1	Add: Roseate tern ( Sterna dougallii dougallii)	Add: New York	Survey, capture, band, release	Capture	Amend
1541732	Emily Pody, Lexington, VA	Indiana bat ( Myotis sodalis), gray bat ( Myotis grisescens), northern long-eared bat ( Myotis septentrionalis), Ozark big-eared bat, ( Corynorhinus (= Plecotus) townsendii ingens), Virginia big-eared bat ( Corynorhinus ( =Plecotus) townsendii virginianus)	Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin	Presence/absence survey, band, collect non-intrusive measurements, tag	Capture, collect	New.
1541934	Audubon Sea Bird Institute, Bremen, ME. Donald Lyons	Roseate tern ( Sterna dougallii dougallii)	Maine, Massachusetts	Telemetry attachment research, capture, band, tag	Capture	New.
1745522	Zeinab Haidar, Arcata, CA	Indiana bat ( Myotis sodalis), gray bat ( Myotis grisescens), northern long-eared bat ( Myotis septentrionalis), tricolored bat ( Perimyotis subflavus)	Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia	Presence/absence survey, band, collect non-intrusive measurements, tag, wing punch	Capture, collect	New.

Public Availability of Comments

Written comments we receive become part of the administrative record associated with this action. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

Next Steps

If we decide to issue permits to the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register .

Authority

Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Martin Miller,

Manager, Division of Endangered Species, Ecological Services, Northeast Region.